Draft-gear bracket



2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Sept. 28

. J. M. WAUGH.

DRAFT GEAR BRACKET.

y Y APPLICATION FILED ris. I0. I9I9.

I l es zZ wf/mdfg by @511% APPLICATION FILED FEB. l0, |919.

1.' M.' wAuGH. DRAFT GEAR BRACKET.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET :z`

Pmmasept. 28,1920.

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JAMES MILTON WAUGl-I, GF CHCYAGO, EL'LNOIS.

DRAFT-GEAR BRACKET.

To @ZZ 'LU/wm it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES MrL'roN WAUGH, a citizen of the United Sta-tes, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Gear Brackets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specication.

My invention has reference more particularly to the brackets or guides for supporting the shock absorbing elements of a draft gear, such as is used in railway cars.

ln railway car construction it is customary to provide what is known as a draft gear, comprising a cushioning element, to which the draw-bar is connected for absorbing the pulling and pushing strains, and in accordance with the present tendency to standardize the construction of cars, the arrangement for accommodating the draft gear is substantially the same in all cars. lt is customary to arrange the draft sills of the car an established distance apart, with a draft gear carry iron connecting the bottoms of the sills, and draft lugs or cheek plates spaced longitudinally on the inner faces of the draft sills, at each side of the draft gear carry iron, to support and confine the cushioning element of the draft gear between the sills.

Draft gears are made in a number of different forms, but it is necessary that in whatever form they are constructed they shall be applicable to the standardized structure above mentioned and suitable means must be provided to support the resilient element thereof and parts connected therewith, for the necessary movement in the standard space provided for the gear.

An important object of standardizing the construction of cars is to determine and afford a structure which will best conserve the strength of the elements used in the car structure, as the excessive wear and tear on the car structure, and public safety require the maintaining of the strength of the structure to the greatest extent possible, and this requirement must be borne in mind in applying each particular form of draft gear to the car. The draft gear must be securely mounted in the standard space pro- Specfcation of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 28, 1920,

Application filed February 10, 1919.

Serial No. 276,214.

vided therefor with as little change or mutilation of the car elements as possible and also in a manner which will enable ,he draft gear to be readily applied to such standard structure.

lt is an object of my invention to provide brackets or guides which may be used with any acceptable form of draft gear for mounting same in the standard space provided therefor in the present type of car construction.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a simple and effective form of such brackets, Which enables them to be furnished at a low cost and conveniently applied to the standard forms of car construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide such brackets for supporting and confining the draft gear, which may be securely mounted and held in place without change or mutilation of the elements of the car structure.

My invention also has other important objects which will appear from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which I have described and illustrated my invention in a preferred form.

On the drawings:

Figure l is a top view, with parts thereof above the line 2 2 in section, of portions of the draft sills, provided with standard parts to accommodate the draft gear and having the draft gear applied in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 2 2, of Fig. l with the draft bar shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line 3 3, of Fig. l.

Fig. fl is an enlarged transverse sectional view on the line 4 4, of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation looking at the inner side of my improved bracket for supporting the draft gear.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral l. indicates p0rtions of draft sills, which are illustrated as.

channel irons, and it is to be understood that these extend lengthwise of the car. Secured to the lower anges 2, of the draft sills l, by means of bolts 3, is a carry iron l, comprising a broad plate which may be arched intermediate of the sills as shown and is located below the point where the resilient element of the draft gear is to be positioned.

Secured to the inner face of each sill l,

are front and rear cheek castings or draft lugs 5 and 6, respectively, these being preferably riveted to the sills asat 7, and positioned at the front and rear respectively of the carry plate 4, to afford a space therebetween for the resilient element of the draft gear. These cheek castings have inwardly extending flanges 8 and 9, respectively, which serve as stops or abutments for the resilient element.

The resilient element may be of any suitable type or construction but in the present illustration is shown as consisting of a series of similar multiple plate elements 10, each composed of a plurality of flexible plates placed face to face and arranged to be collectively bowed by either thrusting or pulling strains on the draft bar. Follower blocks 11 and 12, are provided at the front and rear ends respectively of the series of elements l0, each having a convex face plate 13 engaging the adjacent plural plate element 10, and the elements 10 are separated from one another by spacers 14 and 15. The spacers 14 comprise a central web with eX- panded ends, and the spacer 15 is tapered ,from the center to each end and these spacers are arranged as shown in Fig. 1, so that each element 10 has a convex surface engaged against one side thereof and a concave surface at the other side so that pressure on either of the blocks 11 or 12 bows each plural plate element 1Q. The blocks 11 and 12 are arranged to abut against the front and rear draft lugs 5 and 6 when pressure is applied to the other follower block. A draft gear of this ty e is shown in and described in my Patent ho. 1,075,741, issued October 14, 1913, to which reference may be had for further details of construction and operation thereof.

The draft bar, a portion of which is indicated at 16, has a head 17, which butts against the front follower block 11, and there is a yoke 18, the bight 19, of which is normally held against the inner follower block 12, and this yoke has side plates 20, connecting the ends of the arms and normally engaging the front follower block 11,

so that the resilient element is held therebetween. The head 17, of the draft bar 16, is inserted between the ends of the arms of the yoke and between the plates 20, and a flat pin 21, is passed through the plates 20, and the head 17, to connect the yoke and draft bar, and has the ends projecting outwardly through slots 22, provided therefor in the sills 1, and draft lugs 5, so as to permit the necessary play of the draft bar and yoke afforded by the cushioning elements'of the draft gear.

One end of the pin 21, is headed or bent angularly as at 23, at the outer side of the sill 1, and a washer 24, and pin 25, maybe provided at the other end of the pin 21, t0

hold it in place. The yoke 18, is supported in position by the draft gear carry iron 4, over which it slides.

For supportiner the resilient elements of the draft gear have provided a plate, bracket or guide 26, at each side of the resilient element which is of sufficient length to extend between the front and rear cheek castings 5 and 6, respectively, and is bent inwardly at 27, to afford a shoulder or ledge upon which the follower blocks 11 and 12, the resilient elements 10 and the spacers 14 and 15, are supported to slide, and the upper edge of the plate 26, is bent inwardly at 28, over the resilient draft elements to retain them in position between said flange 28 and shoulder 27 and serve as a guide therefor. The plate 26, is also bent downwardly and outwardly from the inner edge of the shoulder 27, and provided with an upturned portion 2,9, intermediate of its ends and of substantially the same width as the carry plate 4, and adapted to rest on this carry plate as shown in Fig. 3 to support the bracket 26, in place. At each side of the upturned portion 29, the plate 26 is provided with an outturned flange 30, which, as shown in Fig. 3, is adapted to engage under the adjacent sill 1, and is held thereagainst by engagement of the intermediate portion of the bracket 26, on the plate 4. Thus these plates 26, one of which is arranged adjacent the inner face of each sill 1, by reason of the resilient draft gear elements being interposed therebetween and the clamping thereof against the sills 1 by the plate 4, are locked in position, and the resilient element of the draft gear is likewise locked in place without the necessity of bolting or riveting any bracket onto the car structure or changing or mutilating the car structure in any manner whatsoever.

The operation is as follows:

Inasmuch as the portion of the sills to which the draft gear is applied is usually covered by the floor of the car, it is desirable that the draft gear may be applied from below so as to facilitate replacement and repairs. In my construction the yoke 18, first has the resilient element of the draft gear assembled therein, after which the side plates 26, are arranged, one at each side of the resilient element of the draft gear in the position which they are required to occupy when the draft gear is assembled in position between the sills. This combined structure of yoke, resilient draft gear elements and the two side plates 26, is then elevated into position between the sills 1, and also between the cheek castings 5 and 6, until the flanges 30 encrage against the bottom of the sill. The dra t gear carry iron 4, is then placed in position at the cutaway place in the flanges 30, and secured by means of the bolts 3, to the sills l, so as to support'the Lassen yoke 18, and when so secured in place this carry iron 4 clamps the brackets in position with the flanges 30, against the bottom of the sills, and the brackets are thereby locked in place and the resilient gear element held in position without any change or alteration or mutilation of the standard elements of the car structure.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form wherein the brackets 26 are constructed from metal plates and are arranged to accommodate a certain type of resilient draft gear elements, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made. For example, the bracket 26, may be made as a casting or shaped differently or constructed in a differ ent form to accomplish the object of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of spaced draft sills, cushioning means therebetween, stops spaced longitudinally on the sills, a draft bar connected with the cushioning means so that the latter absorbs pushing and pulling strains on the draw bar, a plate connecting the sills, and means supported and clamped by said plate against the sills for supporting and locking the cushioning means between the sills. Y I

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of sills, a draw bar, a shock absorber between the longitudinal sills adapted to absorb thrusting and pulling strains on the draw bar, and means for supporting and locking the shock absorber in position between the sills, comprising a plate connecting both sills and means at each side of the shock absorber having longitudinal guides for the shock absorber and adapted to be clamped to the sills by said plate. j

3.' In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of draft sills, a draw bar, shock absorbing means between and slidable longitudinally of the sills and connected with the draw bar to absorb pulling and thrusting strains thereon, and means for' detachably securing the shock` absorbing means between the sills, comprising a transverse member connecting both sills and a guide at each side of the shock absorbing means slidably supporting said shock absorbing means and adapted to b. interlocked with the adjoining sill by the said transverse member.

4. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a pair of spaced sills, a draw bar, a shock absorbing element between and slidable longitudinally of the sills and connected with the draw bar to absorb pulling and thrusting strains thereon, stops on the sills, at each end of the shock absorbing element, and means for supporting and locking the shock absorbing element between the sills comprising a plate at each side of the shock absorbing element interposed between the element and the sill, inwardly extending members on each plate above and below the shock absorbing element for slidably supporting the element therebetween, outturned flanges at the bottom of each plate adapted to engage under the adjoining sill, and a transverse member connecting both sills and engaging under said plates to support the plates between the sills with the flanges of the plate clamped against the bottom of the sills.

5. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of spaced sills, a drawbar, shock-absorbing means slidable longitudinally of the sills, and adapted to absorb twisting and pulling strains on the drawbar, supporting members positioned adjacent the inner surfaces of the sills and formed to project under the shock absorbing means to afford. guide shoulders therefor, and a transverse member connectingthe sills and engaging under said supporting members.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of spaced sills, a shock absorbing element between and slidable longitudinally of the sills, a yoke embracing the shock absorbing element and having the draw bar connected therewith so that the shock absorbing element absorbs thrusting and pulling strains on the draw bar, a draft gear carry iron connecting the sills under the yoke, stops on the sills at each end of the shock absorbing element, and a member at each side of the'shock absorbing element between said element and the sills, each member having upper and lower guides slidably engaged by the shock absorbing element, outturned anges on said members engaging `the sills and means under said members en- 

